As is well known, various processes and catalysts exist for the homopolymerization or copolymerization of olefins. For many applications it is of primary importance for a polyolefin to have a high weight average molecular weight while having a relatively narrow molecular weight distribution. A high weight average molecular weight, when accompanied by a narrow molecular weight distribution, provides a polyolefin or an ethylene-.alpha.-olefin copolymer with high strength properties.
Traditional Ziegler-Natta catalysts system--a transition metal compound cocatalyzed by an aluminum alkyl--are capable of producing polyolefins having a high molecular weight but a broad molecular weight distribution.
More recently a catalyst system has been developed wherein the transition metal compound has two or more cyclopentadienyl ring ligands--such transition metal compound being referred to as a metallocene--which catalyzes the production of olefin monomers to polyolefins. Accordingly, metallocene compounds of a Group IV B metal, particularly, titanocenes and zirconocenes, have been utilized as the transition metal component in such "metallocene" containing catalyst system for the production of polyolefins and ethylene-.alpha.-olefin copolymers. When such metallocenes are cocatalyzed with an aluminum alkyl--as is the case with a traditional type Ziegler-Natta catalyst system--the catalytic activity of such metallocene catalyst system is generally too low to be of any commercial interest.
It has since become known that such metallocenes may be cocatalyzed with an alumoxane--rather than an aluminum alkyl--to provide a metallocene catalyst system of high activity for the production of polyolefins.
The zirconium metallocene species, as cocatalyzed or activated with an alumoxane, are commonly more active than their hafnium or titanium analogues for the polymerization of ethylene alone or together with an .alpha.-olefin comonomer. When employed in a non-supported form--i.e., as a homogeneous or soluble catalyst system--to obtain a satisfactory rate of productivity even with the most active zirconium species of metallocene typically requires the use of a quantity of alumoxane activator sufficient to provide an aluminum atom to transition metal atom ratio (Al:TM) of at least greater than 1000:1; often greater than 5000:1, and frequently on the order of 10,000:1. Such quantities of alumoxane impart to a polymer produced with such catalyst system an undesirable content of catalyst metal residue, i.e., an undesirable "ash" content (the nonvolatile metal content). In high pressure polymerization procedures using soluble catalyst systems wherein the reactor pressure exceeds about 500 bar only the zirconium or hafnium species of metallocenes may be used. Titanium species of metallocenes are generally unstable at such high pressures unless deposited upon a catalyst support.
A wide variety of Group IV B transition metal compounds have been named as possible candidates for an alumoxane cocatalyzed catalyst system. Although bis(cyclopentadienyl) Group IV B transition metal compounds have been the most preferred and heavily investigated for use in alumoxane activated catalyst systems for polyolefin production, suggestions have appeared that mono and tris(cyclopentadienyl) transition metal compounds may also be useful. See, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,522,982; 4,530,914 and 4,701,431. Such mono(cyclopentadienyl) transition metal compounds as have heretofore been suggested as candidates for an alumoxane activated catalyst system are mono(cyclopentadienyl) transition metal trihalides and trialkyls.
More recently, International Publication No. WO 87/03887 describes the use of a composition comprising a transition metal coordinated to at least one cyclopentadienyl and at least one heteroatom ligand as a transition metal component for use in an alumoxane activated catalyst system for .alpha.-olefin polymerization. The composition is broadly defined as a transition metal, preferably of Group IV B of the Periodic Table, which is coordinated with at least one cyclopentadienyl ligand and one to three heteroatom ligands, the balance of the transition metal coordination requirement being satisfied with cyclopentadienyl or hydrocarbyl ligands. Catalyst systems described by this reference are illustrated solely with reference to transition metal compounds which are metallocenes, i.e., bis(cyclopentadienyl) Group IV B transition metal compounds.
Even more recently, at the Third Chemical Congress of North American held in Toronto, Canada in June 1988, John Bercaw reported upon efforts to use a compound of a Group III B transition metal coordinated to a single cyclopentadienyl heteroatom bridged ligand as a catalyst system for the polymerization of olefins. Although some catalytic activity was observed under the conditions employed, the degree of activity and the properties observed in the resulting polymer product were discouraging of a belief that such monocyclopentadienyl transition metal compound could be usefully employed for commercial polymerization processes.
The new metallocene catalyst of the copending application is, however, a homogeneous catalyst and generally cannot be practically used for gas phase polymerization. The use of a supported catalyst offers the possibility of gas phase compatibility. Control of the particle size distribution of the polymeric product in the various polymerization processes eliminates or reduces the extent of reactor fouling.
Supported catalysts for olefin polymerization are well known in the art. These catalysts offer, among others, the advantages of being usable in gas or slurry phase reactors allowing the control of polymer particle size and thereby the control of product bulk density. Gas phase reactors also eliminate the need for a solvent and the equipment for solvent handling and separation. However, the known Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization supported catalysts also present disadvantages which include broad MWD and composition distribution (CD), inefficient incorporation of comonomers, poor sequence distribution and, in the case of lower activity catalysts, the need for a product deashing step.
Supported metallocene-alumoxane catalysts for olefin polymerization are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,432 of Welborn. These supported metallocene-alumoxane catalysts are obtained by reacting a metallocene and an alumoxane in the presence of the solid support material. The supported catalyst may then be employed either as the sole catalyst component or may be employed in combination with an organometallic cocatalyst. The supported metallocene-alumoxane catalyst, however, still produced polymers of generally lower molecular weight and comonomer incorporation than desired for certain applications.
A need still exists for discovering catalyst systems that permit the production of higher molecular weight polyolefins and desirably with a narrow molecular weight distribution. It is also desirable that a catalyst be discovered which, within reasonable ranges of ethylene to .alpha.-olefin monomer ratios, will catalyze the incorporation of higher contents of .alpha.-olefin comonomers in the production of ethylene-.alpha.-olefins copolymers. It is highly desirable that such a catalyst system be available and active in a supported form for process applications which require a supported catalyst, such as gas phase polymerization processes and certain slurry polymerization processes, and for purposes of reducing metal residue left in the final product.